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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Brace
yourselves guys, this is a long story. If it gets too boring, no offense will
be taken. Promise! But please, scroll
down to the bottom of this post and get the recipe for the pound cake,
ok?

Saturday
was beautiful…

I
started the morning with a great yoga class then an awesome crabmeat egg
scramble with bagels for brunch. Then, there was a random vanity surprise. Two years ago, my friend,
Hayley, gave me a really cute dress. It is a size 0 and although
it fit me everywhere, the zipper got stuck a quarter of the way up. My back
just had a little extra something that did not allow the dress to fit
perfectly. Today, as I was doing a quick update of what clothes I can start
wearing for spring, I came upon the dress and decided to try it on. The zipper
miraculously zipped all the way up! Whoop dee doo!

The
first part of the afternoon was spent blogging, making a grocery list, taking a nice, long
nap, and getting ready to go on a date with DFJ. We went wine tasting to the
sweetest winery ever, which was only 6 miles away. Kitzke Cellars…

Last
summer, DFJ and I were on a bike ride and as we were going uphill on that hot,
hot day, there was a sign that said, “Wine Tasting.” It was like a mirage and I
convinced DFJ to check it out. He wasn’t keen on doing so because we didn’t
have our wallets with us and we looked very unattractive: sweaty and sporting
helmet heads. But what the heck, we live in Washington’s Wine Country and
people here will welcome you no matter what. I was not really expecting to get
to do some wine tasting, but just hoped to catch a glimpse of the tasting room.
A very friendly dog greeted us at the entrance and the owners welcomed us
warmly, offered to have us taste some wine (even if we didn’t have any money to
pay for the fee and obviously won’t be buying any bottles), and even gave us
some cold water. After that nice wine break, we said our grateful “thank yous”,
hopped on our bikes, and promised to come back later that day. Life happened
and even though we kept talking about going back, we never did until last weekend. We
had a wonderful time visiting with the charming owners, Paul and Vicky,
exchanging stories, discovering that we knew some people in common, and of
course tasting their good wines. Everything we tasted was great and I’m very
pleased with the wines that we picked.

After
wine tasting, we went grocery shopping. Man, going grocery shopping after wine
tasting is not good. I ended up coveting everything and thinking about what can
be made with pretty much anything I laid my eyes on. When we got home, we
proceeded to start working on the Food Matters Project dinner. Roasted chicken with vegetables cooked in wine. While DFJ did the dishes, I baked this cake for
the second time…

This
is my adapted version of Joy the Baker’s, Chocolate Orange Pound Cake. Friday night, I made this for a dinner party and was so happy it turned
out great even after some ingredient changes and some butter and sugar cuts.
There was only one slice left and my friends’ dog ate it. Glad Charlie got to
enjoy it too! It is seriously so good I had to bake it again at 9:30 in the
evening on a Saturday night. Two days in a row! I usually never make anything twice, so this is really something special.

Anyway,
while this awesome cake was baking, we settled down to watch Contagion. I
conked out during the second half of the movie. While I was in a sleepy haze
after the movie was over, DFJ stole a slice before I could take a picture of
the whole cake. “Ooops, sorry!” was all he could say with a look that wasn’t really
sorry. He shared a few bites and it made me wish it was already morning so I
could have this with some coffee.

This
cake has a sweet, orangey tang, and dark chocolate bites here and there. The
spelt flour in this cake adds a depth to the texture and a touch of sweet and
nutty flavors. Soft and lovely inside, golden brown and crusty outside. Lovely!

In
a large bowl, whisk well together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In
a medium size bowl, whisk the orange zest with the sugar well.

In
a separate large bowl, cream the cream cheese and yogurt together using an
electric hand mixer on low speed. Add the butter and continue to cream on low
speed. Pour in the orange juice and vanilla extract and continue to mix
everything well on low speed.

Slowly
pour in the orange-sugar into the wet mixture and mix on low speed until smooth
and creamy. Add the eggs into this mixture one at a time. As each egg is added
in, keep mixing on low speed until it is beaten well in the mixture.

Pour
all the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix on low speed until
everything is well incorporated. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a
rubber spatula to make sure that no ingredients are left behind (NILB… I’m a
teacher, sorry!). Add the chocolate chips and mix on low speed.

Place
the oven rack in the middle and then preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease
a cake pan with a tad of butter. Move the batter into the cake pan and bake in
the oven for 60 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a cake tester or
toothpick in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

Devour Savor this cake
for breakfast, tea/coffee time, after dinner, whenever.

Saturday
was one of those perfect weekend days where I got to do everything I wanted to
do… yoga, blogging, napping, going out on a lovely date, meeting nice people,
grocery shopping, cooking, eating good food, watching a movie, enjoying DFJ’s
company, and baking this cake.

About Me

Hello, my name is Margarita. I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well and working out. I am a cooking enthusiast and I like sharing my love for good food. Most of my recipes contain lots of vegetables and perhaps a bit of meat here and there. Staying active is one of the things that keep me sane. I love doing yoga, walking, hiking, biking, lifting weights, and occasional running. Join me in my food, travel, and life adventures and together let's eat well, cook right, live strong, and be healthy!